e know some couples who don’t fight very much, but they don’t seem to really enjoy each other, either. They more or less leave each other alone, with a sort of low-level, courteous disdain for each other’s enthusiasms and flaws alike. They never experience the agony of rupture because they’ve carefully cordoned themselves off from any passionate unity. They are indifferent, because it’s easier. And this indifference is a tragic waste of marriage. Read the rest at the... Read more
Or, Why You Should Have a Bunch of Weird Kids and a Giant Dog. I had to run to the pharmacy, and when I got home, this is what met me in the driveway. The little one shouted, “WE ARE RUBBERBANDIANS, AND HAVE SPEARS!” Note that they all have rubber bands on their foreheads (or, as the three-year-old calls them, “our brains.” Also note the progress of the dog. We sometimes sing the Little Mermaid song... Read more
He had to rethink his strategy. A good idea is only a good idea if people will actually use it. So instead of distributing the iron in formless lumps, he tried shaping the iron into a fish — specifically, one local to the communities he hoped to help. Read the rest at the Register. *** image via Wikimedia Commons Read more
As new Marquette NFP users, we decided to buy the new style fertility monitor, which came out in January of this year. We figured it would be the standard eventually, and that sooner or later there would be no tech support for the old style monitor. Plus, it’s cheaper than the old one — although the old one occasionally goes on sale at Rite Aid. In postpartum cycles before menses return, you’re supposed to create artificial cycles by setting the... Read more
My son goes, “Want to see my scary toe?” Oh man, what now? I think. One kid has weird shovel toenails, one has warts, one got stung on the foot by a bee, and one has some kind of horrible scar (and I’m such a good mother, I can’t even remember why). Of course I want to see your scary toe! Behold, the scariest toe you will see all day: Read more
For some reason, nobody ever asks me to give the commencement address at their local high school or college. This despite the fact that I promised to wear pantyhose and everything, and to leave the bottle at home. Bunch of anti-Semites. Anyway, I’m not one to be bitter. I’m not going to let this snubbing gnaw away at me. I’m just going to go ahead and write that speech anyway, and print out several copies of it, and keep them... Read more
I’ve recently started using Marquette, and haven’t yet formed the habit of putting the monitor away in the morning. (I haven’t yet formed the habit of putting anything away, to be honest, but that’s a separate problem.) This means that the kids keep finding it and going, “oooOOOOOoooo, what’s THIS?” Because yeah, the new style monitor kinda looks familiar: It’s confusing, Bill. We’re all confused. Nevertheless, as parents, we believe in Always Answering Questions, in as much detail as... Read more
So here’s what I say to the Columbia students clutching their carefully cultivated pearls as they face down the hot breath of those terrible, wild gods: you’re damn right it’s not safe. You’re not in control here, not on this playground. You may find yourself climbing too high and too fast, and you may reach out for that rung on the monkey bars only to find that you’re grabbing thin air, and down you will plummet, onto the hot asphalt, or maybe further, down into... Read more
It’s so important to stay hydrated in the summer. If the only way to achieve this is to drink too much and then spend the next day guzzling water to try to wash your headache away, then so be it! Therefore, in the name of health, and because Eve Tushnet’s post about ice cream sodas reminded me about drinking, here are a few of our favorite summer drinks: *** 1. THE ANGRY PIRATE Sometimes known, by people who... Read more
But what if you can’t buy a new pair of shoes for your growing child? What if your child must go barefoot, or cut the toes out of shoes that are too small? And what if your child walks miles every day to get to school, and what if he is constantly picking up diseases and parasites through the inevitable cuts and scrapes on his feet? Read the rest at the Register. *** Image via The Shoe that Grows Read more
I Have to Sit Down
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